Six Blind Men of Indostan

bhadrakaali · 09-16-2007, 01:20 PM

One white man, a big Colonial Boss, thinkinf himself to be too Much of a man produced by Rationalism, made a poem out of an Indian stroy...He wrote, Of Course, in English to make fun of the blind men of Indosatn. He would have NEVER REALISED WHAT A BIG TRUTH HE WAS REVEALING ...to the discerning English readers....

Enjoy the poem and if possible, the essence of it...without prejudice..and not like me...may be prejudiced...

The Blind Men and The Elephant

It was six men of Indostan,
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the elephant (Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation Might satisfy the mind.

The first approached the elephant,
And, happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl;
'God bless me! but the elephant Is very like a wall!'

The second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried: 'Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an elephant
Is very like a spear!'

The third approached the animal,
And,happening to take The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
'I see', quoth he,' the elephant Is very like a snake!'

The fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee:
' What most this wondrous beast is like Is mighty plain,'quoth he;
' Tis clear enough the elephant Is very like a tree!'

The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: 'E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an elephant Is very like a fan!'

The sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
'I see', quoth he, 'the elephant
Is very like a rope!'

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right
And all were in the wrong

—John Godfrey Saxe

Om Sarve Shukhina Santu.....

krishnadasa · 09-20-2007, 06:10 AM

I admit wat he says,, but if at all he wanted to prove English better, then he must be a fool no 1....

JustRish · 03-16-2008, 06:59 AM

This is my favourite poem. He based it on an Indian fable. Thank you for sharing.

Sunds · 03-16-2008, 07:27 AM

I have read this poem before but I still do not understand what the Englishman is trying to imply.

JustRish · 03-16-2008, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunds

I have read this poem before but I still do not understand what the Englishman is trying to imply.

That all human truth is relative. And it is an Indian fable. It was not originally written by an Englishmen. I think it was either a Jain story, a Hindu story, a Buddhist story or a Sufi story. It's origins is unknown.

Sunds · 03-16-2008, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustRish

That all human truth is relative. And it is an Indian fable. It was not originally written by an Englishmen. I think it was either a Jain story, a Hindu story, a Buddhist story or a Sufi story. It's origins is unknown.

No, He is trying to mean this...

Though each was partly in the right
And all were in the wrong

Why I asked is why did he use six men of Indostan? He could have simply said six blind men.
Was he saying we are blind, thinking that we are right but are wrong?

JustRish · 03-16-2008, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunds

No, He is trying to mean this...

Though each was partly in the right
And all were in the wrong

Why I asked is why did he use six men of Indostan? He could have simply said six blind men.
Was he saying we are blind, thinking that we are right but are wrong?

This is the way I understand it. I'm not saying you are wrong either.

When he said:

"Though each was partly in the right
And all were in the wrong"

What I think he meant was this:

Every person who touched the elephant were partly right. One felt the trunk, the other felt the tail, etc. So they were right in stating what they felt.

But each person didn't feel the whole elephant so they don't know what the elephant feels like as a whole. That is why they have different opinions. So they were all partly right, but all of them were wrong because they only felt part of the elephant. They didn't have the absolute picture.

So truth is relative. Everyone's truth is different. They were wrong to fight over who is right and who is wrong. Even though they were all partly right, they were wrong too because they didn't feel the whole elephant.

JustRish · 03-16-2008, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunds

No, He is trying to mean this...

Though each was partly in the right
And all were in the wrong

Why I asked is why did he use six men of Indostan? He could have simply said six blind men.
Was he saying we are blind, thinking that we are right but are wrong?

The story was an Indian fable so he had to give credit to the Indians for writing it. Depends how you view it I guess.

This is the way I understand it. I'm not saying you are wrong either. Everyone interprets this story differently. In Hinduism, for example, truth is relative because they also don't say Christians are wrong, Muslims are wrong, Jews are wrong do they? There are different ways to get to God.

When he said:

"Though each was partly in the right
And all were in the wrong"

What I think he meant was this:

Every person who touched the elephant were partly right. One felt the trunk, the other felt the tail, etc. So they were right in stating what they felt.

But each person didn't feel the whole elephant so they don't know what the elephant feels like as a whole. That is why they have different opinions. So they were all partly right, but all of them were wrong because they only felt part of the elephant. They didn't have the absolute picture.

So truth is relative. Everyone's truth is different. They were wrong to fight over who is right and who is wrong. Even though they were all partly right, they were wrong too because they didn't feel the whole elephant.

JustRish · 03-16-2008, 08:22 AM

But then again, I can now see why someone might find it offensive. May be you're right too.